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Baylor

10/10/2014

FORT WORTH, Texas - The player thought to be a potential liability for TCU this season has developed into a reason they could win the Big 12. Trevone Boykin's best position is not wide receiver, and Texas A&M transfer Matt Joeckel was not going to be handed the starting job.

The player whom TCU ostensibly picked over Johnny Manziel is playing like "one of those" college quarterbacks that may not have a role in the NFL, but thrives at this level.

Boykin should be considered one of the biggest reasons why No. 9 TCU can defeat No. 5 Baylor on Saturday at Rich Old Guy Stadium in Waco. For TCU to win, Boykin will have to do more than his counterpart, Heisman hopeful Bryce Petty.

His head coach trusts him to make the money throws, and to know what to do and when to do it. They are no longer pulling the leash on Boykin in fear.

"I'm the one that has always believed in Trevone," TCU head coach Gary Patterson said during his weekly press conference. "He's very athletic."

Two years ago, when Boykin was forced into the Big 12 schedule as a redshirt freshman, his head coach said: "When it's not there, you're not ... Dan Marino. You are a redshirt freshman quarterback." And, "Don't do anything fantastic; don't be bad. Manage the game. What you want is a junior Trevone Boykin not a freshman Trevone Boykin."

Boykin is a junior, and that maturation has occured. Patterson trusts his QB with the passes that make him nervous - over the middle.

With TCU adding veer/option plays to complement a new spread offense, Boykin looks like a poor man's Robert Griffin III - a guy who can throw it, run it, and can drive opposing defensive coordinator's nuts.

He leads TCU in rushing with 260 yards and a 5.1 yards per carry average. He is completing 61.5 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and is averaging 294 passing yards per game.

Do not underestimate the value of Boykin having played in 28 games, and being forced into the quarterback role two seasons ago with no college experience.

When TCU travels to Waco for Saturday's game, they will not be seeing the same team they defeated on their last visit in 2012. This may be Baylor's best team of this era, and better than last season.

Boykin is not the same player he was two years ago, when he was making his second career start, in a 49-21 win over Baylor in Waco.

He has played a lot, matured, and developed into something not many expected.

Trevone Boykin is a better college quarterback than wide receiver, and a reason why TCU can upset Baylor.

10/05/2014

FORT WORTH, Texas - Of the many upsets TCU has enjoyed since Gary Patterson became its head coach, its 37-33 win on Saturday over Oklahoma warranted a good field-rush by the fans, but it should not come as a major surprise.

From the sidelines, it was apparent quickly TCU was a big underdog in name only. TCU entered its game ranked 25th, but it was apparent quickly they were/are much closer to the then No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners than previously thought.

TCU could run with, stand up to, and push Oklahoma. These are not your Rose Bowl TCU Horned Frogs. The Rose Bowl-team was an intelligent group, but this team has players who can compete with the biggest and best of the Big 12. TCU was ready to win and close out this kind of game against that caliber of opponent.

TCU's win over OU was not an accident, or much of an upset. The Horned Frogs were the better team, with the better quarterback, and they deserved to win. Watching this game you had the feeling they would beat OU again. Not 10 out of 10 times, but five out of 10.

In the AP's latest Who the Hell Knows What The Top 25 Really Is Poll, TCU is No. 9. TCU's next opponent, Baylor, is fifth. The USA Today poll has TCU 12th, and Baylor No. 3. The Bears received one first-place vote in the USA Today poll.

(BTW - I love this photo of No. 24 celebrating the win with his teammates, and a TCU bro' who squeezed in 9 on Saturday morning before he hit the tailgate. Ryan DeNucci is the backup place kicker, does not look like he dropped a single bead of sweat during this game, and will have this memory forever. This is why college football is better than the NFL.)

TCU's front seven, specifically the linebackers, are able to do the things Gary Patterson needs in order to work. They are active, athletic and make plays near the line of scrimmage. He will not like the fact they gave up 33 points, or that OU receiver Sterling Shephard had 215 receiving yards. Gary should be thrilled that TCU held OU running back Samaje Perine to an average of 3.5 yards per rush, and QB Trevor Knight threw two interceptions and completed 40 percent of his passes.

TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin looks like a player who has two years of experience, and knows what to do. He also competes like his life depends on every play. The line in front of him is improved, and his ability to move alleviates any pressure they feel to hold blocks for a more coventional passer. In college football, a decent line with a mobile quarterback can buy yards, points and wins.

TCU should not be expected to win the Big 12, but it should no longer be a big surprise when they beat Oklahoma, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Baylor.

08/29/2014

FORT WORTH, Texas - David Pollack is a relative newcomer to ESPN as an analyst, but the man is not short on opinions. God love him. Pollack is in Fort Worth as part of ESPN's Game Day coverage that is in Sundance Square for the Cowboys Classic featuring No. 1 Florida State vs. Oklahoma State. (#FloridaSt. #OklahomaState)

I asked Pollack which among the teams in Texas has the best chance to reach college footbal's Final Four.

"Baylor (#Baylor) has a shot. In the Big 12, there are a lot of teams that offensively that have a lot of question marks and you don't with them," Pollack said. "Their strength is so strong it doesn't matter if your weakness is a little bit of defense. They are deeper in the defensive front seven and they are better. The back end will be interesting because they lost some guys. I think they will be fine.

"Offensively, they are going to be so hard to stop."

I asked if he thought Baylor can defeat Oklahoma (#Oklahoma), even though the game is in Norman.

"Absolutely," Pollack said. "I'm not necessarily the biggest Oklahoma supporter. I'm not buying Oklahoma. Their schedule is awesome. The only team they play on the road with an above .500 record is Texas Tech. (Quarterback) Trevor Knight does not show me enough. When has Oklahoma delivered? Oklahoma is going to have to show me they can be consistent. That's what we are used to with Landry Jones and them putting up crazy numbers."

The rub for Pollack is that among the Power Five conferences, despite Baylor's strength he does not think the Bears a lock for the Final Four. Pollack believes Florida State is a given, as are teams from the SEC and Pac 12. That leaves one team from the Big 12 and Big 10.

"I don't see a team that I am hitching my wagon to," Pollack said. "I don't have a Big 12 team in the Final Four."

08/20/2014

TCU remains a favorite target for its sometimes sporadic attendance at home football games, despite whatever number the school reports at the bottom of a box score. All teams that are not at capacity inflate attendance figures. It's standard practice.

This picture from a TCU home game in 2013, specifically the dog against Kansas, is fodder and provides the can't-miss line of, "Nobody goes to their games!"

With an enrollment of less than 9,000, TCU football games will forever remain a challenge to fill up Amon G. Carter Stadium's 45,000 seats. Despite its inclusion in the Big 12, numbers are not in this team's favor for a good crowd. There are reportedly more Texas Tech alums in DFW than TCU alums.

Throw in the possibility of the awful 11 a.m. kickoffs and/or bad weather, plus the chance to drink booze at the tailgate, capacity crowds are a bad bet. It does not help that participation/attendance from TCU's student-body is erratic.

Attedance is only never an issue when TCU hosts Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, etc.

One of the details that frustrated former TCU head coach Dennis Franchione in his tenure at the school was the constant struggle to fill the stadium. All coaches notice when there are large section of empty seats.

Do the players?

"I'll be honest, and you can ask my parents, I don't look up in the stands," safety Sam Carter said. "If you are worried about the fans, then you are not worried about the game. Fans should not want you to make good or bad. Even on road trips, I don't notice the stands."

According to Carter, he felt no different than TCU's home sparsely-attended home game against Kansas, and the packed crowd in Oklahoma against the Sooners.

"The fans do not ignite me or want me to play better," he said. "Now, some guys it makes a difference. A lot of these guys played at Lake Travis or Katy High where the place was packed. They are used to that. Me, I didn't play at that type of program. Fans never impacted me. Once I get to the game, my mind is set on the other team. I do believe I am different in a lot of ways."

Carter does not speak for the majority. Most players notice the atmosphere, and play with greater sense of urgency when the place is full.

"You notice when you walk out of the tunnel," junior defensive tackle Joey Hunt said. "They get the environment going, and people do feed off of attitude. If you are around sad people, you are down. If you are around happy people, you are happy. It can definitely help us. It gets the sideline going, and then we get going. The more people the better."

I asked Hunt if he could ask anything of TCU fans what he would ask of them.

"I want it to sell out and come to the game and stay for the whole game," he said. "I know it can get hot, but we're hot, too."

08/17/2014

The AP's Top 25 preseason college football poll is out, and ... Charlie Strong must be relieved. Texas is, finally, not in a preseason Top 25. But the Horns are close. Too close but at least they are not ranked according to the AP.Big 12 teams are in bold. Texas teams are bold and italics.

The worst development that could have happened for Strong was that Texas somehow was put among the Top 25. The Horns should not be ranked, but the power of the Texas name and the Bevo brand is powerful and often puts this team where it does not deserve.

Expectations for Strong's team should be modest this season, and a preseason Top 25 ranking would have sent the wrong message that this team is ready when it is not.

The next time Texas should be ranked is when/if the 'Horns are 3-0; that would mean they defeated both North Texas, BYU and UCLA. That is a 3-0 that would merit a Top 25 ranking.

08/07/2014

DALLAS, Texas - Finishing 4-8 does not lend itself to many positives, but on closer look there is a good reason to believe why TCU will finish with a winning record and better than its projected finish of seventh in the Big 12.

TCU was 4-8 last season, but "in" seven games. The "other" games that were decided before the fourth quarter - SE Louisiana, SMU, Kansas, OK State, Texas - the Frogs were 3-2.

"In" meaning they were either ahead, tied, or close in the fourth quarter of seven games. The Frogs' record in those games was 1-6:

1. Aug., 31: LSU 37, TCU 27 TCU trailed 30-27 with 7:30 remaining, but chased this game from the beginning. At no point did it feel like LSU would lose.

2. Sept. 12: Texas Tech 20, TCU 10 The game was tied at 10 in the fourth quarter. TCU out-gained Tech 401 to 336, but could not take the lead in a game that it felt like it should have won.

3. Oct. 5: Oklahoma 20, TCU 17 TCU trailed 13-10 after three quarters, but at no point did it feel like they were going to win this game.

4. Nov. 2: West Virginia 30, TCU 27 (ot)This was a game TCU should have won, but deserved to lose considering how it played. The Frogs needed 10 points in the final three minutes to force OT against a bad West Virginia team at home.

5. Nov. 9: TCU 21, Iowa State 17A dog-ugly game throughout; TCU led 14-7 at the half. ISU led 17-14 in the fourth quarter before TCU won it on a short touchdown run with 38 seconds remaining.

6. Nov. 16: Kansas State 33, TCU 31The Frogs grabbed the lead late, but allowed a last-second field goal to lose.

7. Nov. 30: Baylor 41, TCU 38This was the upset TCU should have had; Baylor returned two interceptions for touchdowns, and scored 21 points off turnovers. The Frogs were driving late but QB Casey Pachall threw another pick in the endzone to end the game.

If the results from just a few of those types of games flip for TCU in 2014, this should be a seven or eight-win team.

"I believe we can win every game," TCU safety Sam Carter said. "Those are in the past. We were close, but close doesn't get you anything. Those teams beat us. If we were close, we would have won. I am not big on, 'Oh, you were an inch short so it's OK that you lost.' Be an inch above."

Carter refused to buy my theory that those seven close games in 2013 are a positive for this team in 2014.

"You can look at it that way, but if I do that I would look at my whole life and say, 'What if I had done this or what if I had done that?'" Carter said. "We went 4-8 for a reason."

Snyder said: "We've sold out to the cameras over there, and TV has made its way, and I don't fault TV. I don't fault whoever broadcasts games. They have to make a living and that's what they do, but athletics -- that's it. It's sold out."

Few schools sold out to the cash of college football more than Kansas State - thanks to Snyder's incredible direction; because there is a proven correlation between a successful football program and increased applications and enrollment.

It is stupid to think that a prospective student is influenced where he/she may attend school based at all on a football team that plays 12 games a year, six at home.

It is stupid to think a university is easily able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars on a facility that is used six to 10 times a year. Education? Who cares - we're talking about a nice place to watch Baylor play Incarnate Word.

Snyder said: "Everybody is building Taj Mahals, and I think it sends the message -- and young people today I think are more susceptible to the downside of that message, and that it's not about education. We're saying it is, but it's really about the glitz and the glitter, and I think sometimes values get distorted that way. I hate to think a young guy would make a decision about where he's going to get an education based on what a building looks like."

And few states have followed that better than the Great State a Texas.

Since 2000, when SMU opened the new Ford Stadium, eight universities in Texas have combined, or are committed to, spend a well over $1 billion on football stadiums.

In this down economy, the state of Texas has spent more than $1 billion on facilities to play a football game. And this figure does not include weight rooms, academic centers, etc. And this figure does not include payouts to coaches who were fired. And this figure does not include high school football stadiums that are broken.

Snyder talks about priorities ... here you go:

SMU: Ford Stadium (new)$42 million

University of Houston: TDECU Stadium (new) $120 million

Texas A&M: Kyle Field (expansion)$450 million

TCU: Amon G. Carter Stadium(remodel) $164 million

Baylor University: McLane Stadium (new)$250 million

North Texas: Apogee Stadium (new) $78 million

University of Texas: Memorial Stadium (remodel/upgrades/expansion) $60 million

07/25/2014

DALLAS, Texas - Part of a moonlighting gig with New School on 105.3 The Fan has allowed my alter ego - Mark Ingles - to interview some of the bigger names in sports/pop culture for a segment I call, "Eye on Sports".

Big 12 Media Days was the perfect chance to catch up with former QB Nick Florence ... or it could have been current Baylor QB and Heisman hopeful Bryce Petty.

With the exception of playing regional rivals, which should always be OK, this schedule for the defending Big 12 champion and Fiesta Bowl runner-up is a bit much.

Baylor director of athletics Ian McCaw was at Big 12 media days this week where I asked him what a great many of the good people who comprise Baylor nation want to know - why?

"When we scheduled the three non-conference opponents this year we were in the midst of a 15-year bowl drought; the philosophy was, let's get to six wins and bowl eligibility," McCaw said. "Our goal is to win three non-conference games, and set us up to have a great year in the Big 12 and hopefully win a Big 12 championship."

McCaw said he has received little criticism from Baylor fans who desire a more competitive looking non-conference game or two. The thought is a fan would prefer his team finish with, for example, an 11-2 record as opposed to a 10-3 record that includes a non-conference loss against a high-ranking quality opponent.

"I want us to play a name opponent, but I want us to play a name opponent in January and not September," McCaw said.

In the old BCS format, these types of schedules provided zero competitive nonconference games, but gave teams the best chance for a nice win total, thus improving the chances for a higher profile bowl bid.

Under this new four-team playoff, where a committee will select the teams based on a variety of factors, includling schedule, the types of opponents Baylor is playing could hurt them.

"If there becomes an incredible premium placed on strength of schedule by the committee, you may see us going to a shorter window in terms of scheduling opponents," McCaw said. "But it's going to take a while."

And by "a while", McCaw means schools routinely schedule non-conference games as much as eight years out. It would be much better if football followed basketball scheduling practices and do it a year or two in advance.

Until then critics will rip it, and Baylor fans clamoring for a decent non-conference game may not like it, but until it doesn't work the Bears are not changing their formula.